Tag Archives: Victorian

Some furniture just isn’t selling well right now, especially what is being called “brown furniture”, such as mahogany china hutches, oak dressers, maple coffee tables and the like (read this article about why it isn’t). Or if it is selling, it is going a rock bottom prices. This can be a big disappointment to estate sale companies who need to sell it to make a profit, and an even bigger disappointment to their clients who had long believed that they harbored treasures in their homes only to discover that nobody really wants them–not their children, not their friends and sometimes not even the buyers who “settle” for something they don’t love just because it fits their small budget. Don’t panic: there is hope yet! Here are some ideas that might help change your customers’ minds (or your own!) about buying:

Give them some ideas about how to make an out-of-date or ragged piece into something more contemporary and fun! Post photos of something similar that has been transformed by paint, updated upholstery, new hardware, or perhaps a totally new shape and function. (Here are some before and after ideas in this article by Better Homes and Gardens)

Before

After

Make it a gift idea. Everyone knows someone who is just starting out. Maybe it’s a newlywed, or a college student, or your brother who has been living in your parents’ basement but is finally venturing out into the world. With usable older furniture prices at an all time low, here is your chance to help out for very little. Encourage your customers to buy for someone with a limited budget that could use a desk or a much needed storage item.

Educate your customers about the value of older, better made furniture. It’s still around in abundance for a reason! It was made to last for generations. Too often today’s furniture, especially the stuff bought from big retail stores known for cranking out cheap and momentarily attractive pieces, are made with built-in obsolescence in mind.

Encourage green living. Buying used furniture means saving our natural resources, and it also assures that the furniture that isn’t purchased doesn’t find it’s way into a (gasp!) landfill.

Suggest that buying might be an investment for the future. Antiques are cheap NOW, but they probably won’t always be so. Trends are cyclical, and what is out of fashion now may be all the rage next year. For instance, Victorian furniture (previously so popular and expensive) is out, while mid-century modern furniture (once the bane of younger boomers maybe because it reeked of the boring bourgeoisie world of their parents) is still highly sought after several years of booming sales. But MCM furniture sales are slowly waning in popularity. What will be the next trend? Maybe, just maybe, it will be all those Victorian pieces full of frills and curlicues that someone was smart enough to buy a lot of while the prices where low!

All that you need are some helpful ways to help customers recognize the benefits of buying the furniture that you know is still fantastic and useful. They want it, they just don’t know it right now.